inheritance

Twenty-five new genetic mutations were found in people with sporadic ALS but not in their parents, supporting the role of genetic contribution in the noninherited form of the disease

Posted on Friday, May 31, 2013 - 12:00, By: Amy Madsen

A team of researchers in the U.S. and Australia has shed new light on sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), finding that some people with the disorder have gene mutations that may be associated with ALS and that do not exist in either of their parents — so-called de novo mutations.

A better understanding of ALS and other neurodegenerative illnesses in American Indians and Alaska Natives could increase awareness, and improve treatment and allocation of resources

Posted on Friday, March 8, 2013 - 15:20, By: Amy Madsen

The number of new cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) identified each year (incidence) and the number of people living with the disease (prevalence) appears to be lower in American Indians and Alaska Natives than in white populations.
Further studies are needed to determine the reason for...

Extra copies of the SMN1 gene (the gene that is deleted or mutated in spinal muscular atrophy) correlate with a higher risk of sporadic ALS

Posted on Friday, February 10, 2012 - 17:21, By: Amy Madsen

Duplications (extra copies) of the SMN1 gene are a "major" risk factor for developing sporadic (noninherited) ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a team of scientists based in the Netherlands and United Kingdom has reported.

Long-ago residence on Guam is likely ALS risk factor
In a study that included 140 people with ALS and another 140 without the disease, those with ALS were found to be eight times more likely to have lived on Guam, even for a few months, than were those who didn’t have ALS.

High rates of ALS on Guam may have been caused by the native people’s predilection for eating bats, according to a new theory.
Two researchers proposed the theory based partly on observations that the bats — a delicacy among native Guamanians — eat poisonous nuts from the indigenous cycad tree.
"If...